List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

Far-right Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert was scolded by Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin for her attitude towards a witness during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee. New York University professor Sally Katzen appeared at the hearing entitled “Death by a Thousand Regulations: The Biden Administration’s Campaign to Bury America in Red Tape” on Wednesday. The lawyer and legal scholar was called to the Republican-led hearing by the minority, Newsweek noted. Ms Boebert spent her time during the hearing berating Ms Katzen, interrupting her as she attempted to answer. The Colorado congresswoman asked Ms Katzen if she thought changes to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) not put forward by Congress were appropriate. As Ms Katzen started to speak, Ms Boebert instead began laying out her thoughts on the matter. Ms Katzen was later interrupted again and when she attempted to respond for the third time, Ms Boebert said, “No ma’am it’s my time. Thank you”. “Oh, I’m sorry, so you are not interested in my views?” Ms Katzen replied to which Ms Boebert once again said it was her turn to speak. As the hearing went on, Ms Katzen appeared to stop trying to answer questions from Ms Boebert. At one point, she suggested that Ms Katzen had a “$2.5 million home” which appeared to be intended as criticism. “Excuse me, I really take that as a personal ... I disagree that you’re casting aspersions on me,” the scholar responded, at which point Ms Boebert said her time was up. After several minutes of verbal jousting, Mr Raskin asked for a moment to criticise Ms Boebert’s behaviour, saying that “an insult is not a substitute for an argument”. “The chair would advise members to adhere to the House standard of decorum and proceed in order,” the chairman of the committee, Kentucky Republican James Comer of Kentucky, said. Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett then apologized to Ms Katzen, saying that Ms Boebert’s line of questioning was “uncalled for”. “Let me do what [Ms Boebert] would never do, which is to be an adult in this room, or in this chamber,” Ms Crockett said. Twitter users also criticised Ms Boebert. “Truly, I believe if Boebert and [Marjorie Taylor Greene] weren’t there, things would calm down in Congress. Those two are instigators of chaos, and just plain meanness,” one Twitter user said. “The fact that Congressman Raskin has to battle cancer and this utter nonsense while maintaining his top-tier level of dignity is a travesty,” another account holder said. After announcing his diagnosis late last year, Mr Raskin revealed in an open letter in late April that his cancer was in remission with a 90 per cent chance of no relapse. Read More Lauren Boebert claims Pentagon considers her a ‘security threat’ GOP Congressman’s ‘scary as hell’ tweet seemingly calls for insurrection after Trump indictment Far-right members of Congress rebel against McCarthy and hold up House votes Lauren Boebert called out over treatment of witness: ‘An insult is not an argument’ Lauren Boebert claims Pentagon considers her a ‘security threat’ GOP lawmaker’s tweet seemingly calls for ‘war’ after Trump indictment

An executive order designed to protect people providing and receiving gender-affirming care was signed by New York City mayor Eric Adams on Monday. Executive Order 32, signed in celebration of Pride, prevents the use of city resources to investigate, detain or prosecute anyone providing or receiving care. It’s a measure similar to one cities have taken to try to protect abortion rights after the reversal of Roe v Wade. New York as a state has not passed any restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, which remains legal across the Northeast. But Mr Adams’s measure comes at a time when the transgender community has been under a sustained attack from Republican party officials who have introduced more than 400 bills in state legislatures targeting LGBT+ people so far this year. Twenty states have already passed laws limiting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, with more states actively considering bans. “As states across the nation continue their onslaught of attacks on our LGBT+ neighbors, New York City is doing what we have always done — standing up for justice and against discrimination,” Mr Adams said in a statement on the executive action. “This executive order reaffirms the fact that hate has no place in our city and that all people deserve the right to gender-affirming care and protection against prosecution for being who they are.” The spirit of Mr Adams’s order is aligned with advisories from a number of major medical associations like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which have said that gender-affirming care is safe and can be lifesaving. The number of people who transition and express regret about it later is believed to be at or less than one percent. For some of them, the regret was temporary. Some see attacks on gender-affirming care for children as part of a broader assault on the bodily autonomy of people who are not cisgender men. A number of the states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care have also passed limits or effective bans on abortion care. Some people in such states have been forced to move to other areas without such restrictions. New York is a place of particular import for the LGBT+ movement, as it is the site of the Stonewall riot and one of the country’s largest and most visible LGBT+ communities. It’s annual Pride parade is set to take place on 25 June. Read More Republicans in Oregon Senate end six-week walkout that blocked bills on abortion, trans health care Texas family moves so trans teen can escape anti-LGTBQ laws: ‘I’d rather be out than dead’ US prepares for potential end of Roe v Wade - live When will there be a Roe v Wade decision? Why these prosecutors are refusing to enforce anti-abortion laws

Donald Trump repeatedly rejected his attorneys’ efforts to settle the classified documents case ahead of a looming indictment, according to a bombshell new report. Insiders told The Washington Post that the former president’s attorney Christopher Kise advised him multiple times to return all classified documents to the correct authorities and then tried to persuade him to try to reach a deal with Attorney General Merrick Garland in late 2022. Mr Trump reportedly dismissed the advice. As a result, on Tuesday, the former president was arrested and arraigned on 37 charges over his handling of classified national security documents after leaving the White House to which he pleaded not guilty, claiming he was a victim of political persecution. He marked his 77th birthday as the first current or former president arrested on federal criminal charges in American history. Bush administration veteran Karl Rove slammed the former president for his “reckless petulance” over the classified documents in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. Mr Rove said both the country and Mr Trump will pay a high price for his actions. Meanwhile, a two-year criminal investigation into Mr Trump’s Westchester County golf course has been dropped to his delight. Read More Trump declared ‘food for all’ in post-arrest stop at Miami cafe – but reportedly skipped bill Donald Trump scores rare legal win as DA drops golf course tax probe Trump's promise of payback for prosecution follows years of attacking democratic traditions Is Donald Trump going to prison?

As Donald Trump plots his criminal defense in the classified documents case, the GOP candidates looking to block his political redemption are slowly making political calculations.

Top Justice Department officials on Friday are expected to announce the findings of a two-year long investigation of the policing practices of the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, people briefed on the matter said.

Nusrat Choudhury was confirmed Thursday as a federal judge by the US Senate, making history as the first Muslim woman and the first Bangladeshi American to join the federal judicial bench.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon issued her first order since former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly mishandling classified information, instructing the parties to get the ball rolling to obtain security clearances for the lawyers who will need them.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Wednesday that bans diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at public colleges and universities across the state, his spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Former President Donald Trump got some good legal news on Thursday when the Westchester County, New York district attorney confirmed that a two-year investigation into the Trump Organization’s valuation of a golf club there has been closed and will not result in any criminal charges. News of the closure of the investigation was first reported by Insider on Wednesday. The news that Mr Trump will not be charged in the case comes days after he became the first former president to ever be federally indicted. Mr Trump was arraigned on 37 felony charges relating to his handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency in Miami on Wednesday. He has also been indicted in New York for his alleged role in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. In a post on social media on Thursday, the former president heralded the end of the investigation into the Trump Organization in Westchester County as the “honorable thing to do” and asked when the other cases against him would be dropped. “THIS WAS THE HONORABLE THING TO DO IN THAT I DID NOTHING WRONG, BUT WHERE AND WHEN DO I GET MY REPUTATION BACK? WHEN WILL THE OTHER FAKE CASES AGAINST ME BE DROPPED? ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” Mr Trump wrote in a post on the platform Truth Social. The closure of the Westchester County investigation brings to a conclusion a years-long dispute between the county and the Trump Organization over what its tax burden should be. In 2015, Ossining’s valuation of the worth of the Trump Organization’s club was 90 per cent higher than the Trump Organization’s own valuation. In July of 2021, however, the town and the club reached a deal in which the town agreed to pay the club about $875,000 and cut its property assessment by nearly 30 percent. Over the course of the Westchester County investigation, which was led by a special prosecutor, the district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from the Trump National Golf Club Westchester and the small town of Ossining where the club is located to see whether the club took any steps to reduce its reported value. It was a particularly intriguing investigation given that, in a lawsuit filed last year, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Mr Trump of overstating the value of the club to inflate his net worth. CBS News noted the connection. The Westchester County case may now be closed, but there are still more investigations into Mr Trump that may result in additional charges — including multiple investigations into his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. Read More Trump news – live: Trump rejected efforts to settle classified papers as Melania spotted in NYC on birthday Is Donald Trump going to prison?

The Air National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of classified documents to social media has been formally indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to national defense, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

When former President Donald Trump visited the iconic Versailles restaurant in Miami after being arraigned on 37 federal charges, he announced that there would be “food for all.” There was just one problem: according to a report in the Miami New Times, Mr Trump never picked up the tab. Mr Trump’s visit to the Cuban restaurant functioned largely as a campaign stop after he spent the morning in federal court on charges that he mishandled classified documents and impeded the government’s attempts to get them back. Mr Trump recieved a warm welcome at Versailles, a frequent stop for Republican candidates in the city, where diners sang him a rendition of “Happy Birthday” and prayed over him. But Mr Trump only saw fit to stay at the restaurant for a handful of minutes after announcing that there would be food for all, leaving no time for people to order let alone for him to pay the check. Mr Trump flew back to New Jersey that afternoon to deliver a speech from his Bedminster golf club, telling the crowd that he declined to give back boxes of classified documents in part because he had clothes in the boxes. The fact that Mr Trump didn’t pay the tab for customers at Versailles after telling them he’d do so won’t suprise many who have followed his career in public life. In fact, the former president has a long history of stiffing people working for him. During his 2016 presidential campaign, USA Today reported that Mr Trump refused to pay in full hundreds of different people contracted to work for him — from dishwashers to attorneys. TruthSocial, the social media network favoured by Mr Trump to compete with Twitter, has also reportedly been engaged in a battle with its web host over unpaid bills. Mr Trump, who has frequently boasted of his wealth and is estimated to have a net worth in excess of $2bn, currently has far bigger legal headaches than unpaid bills. He has been indicted in New York over alleged his role in a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, and also been federally indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency. Those prosecutions are playing out while Mr Trump competes to return the White House. He is currently the favourite to win the Republican presidential nomination for a third straight time, leading a large field of challengers that includes both Gov Ron DeSantis of Florida and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Read More Trump news – live: Trump rejected efforts to settle classified papers as Melania spotted in NYC on birthday

President Joe Biden has tapped Michael Tyler, a seasoned Democratic strategist, to serve as his campaign communications director, his campaign announced Thursday.